The Swap // Denis Stoff

5

'Hey beautiful.' I hear him growl at me as I walk into the venue. He's the only one in the dressing room.

'Where is everyone else? Ben needs me to tune his guitar because he's a dumbass and is terrible at doing it himself.'

He snickers, taking a gulp of his beer and standing up, going over to the door and shutting it. 'They've all went for food. But I didn't want to. I wanted to stay here and spend some time with you.'

'No, sorry,' I say as I go to leave. He stops me, giving me a small shove. 'Please let me out.' I try to stay calm and cool but the cracks in my voice are showing. I feel so vulnerable. He walks towards me, setting his beer down.

'Ben's stupid guitar can wait.' He grabs my arms and pulls me into him, kissing my neck. I close my eyes and grimace, wishing someone would walk through the door. I yank myself away from him.

'Stop.'

He furrows his brows and sets his can of beer down. 'No.' He grabs my arms again and I wince in pain. He doesn't care though. He tightens his grip and throws me onto the couch. He laughs and sits down next to me, pushing me down onto the couch and kissing me roughly. It's just then I hear a knock on the door. 'Go away!' He shouts. Another knock.

'Come in!' I manage to shout as loud as I can, and the door swings open. By then He has pulled himself away from me. One of the other techs, Paul, comes in and gives us an awkward smile, grabbing some equipment and going to leave. 'I'll help.' I say as I quickly get up off of the couch, grabbing anything I could find and scampering after him. I feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I follow behind Paul, who turns to me sharply.

'You do know that what he is doing to you is wrong. Look at you, even you know. You're crying!' He seems almost agitated as he walks next to me, putting his arm around me. 'Everyone sees it honey, but you're the one who needs to put an end to it.'

'How am I supposed to put an end to it if my job is working for him.' I snap. 'I need this job Paul, I need the money.'

'As do we all, but I know so many other bands that have already begged the guys for you to work for them. You're the best at what you do. State Champs have asked literally six times in the past two years.'

I smile. I like State Champs. I like Derek, he's so sweet. 'True.'

'Well please make enquiries. You know fine well that we would hate to see you go - we all love you here. But you're losing yourself Amber. You're not who you used to be.'

All of a sudden I feel sad again and I put my head on Paul's shoulder. He stops me and gives me a hug. 'You're better than that.'

'Thank you.'

'Oi! Daydreamer.' I hear someone shout. I snap out of my trance and look up to Ben, who is swinging his guitar around. 'My baby sounds weird.' he pouts, basically throwing his guitar at me. We're sitting in the bus, still driving to Warped Tour. We'll be there in around an hour apparently.

'You have at least 7 guitars and you're asking me to fix the one you never use?' I eye him, wondering what he was all about.

'Well yeah I need all 7 of them obviously. In case the other 6 break.'

'Not like that's literally my job - to fix them so none of them break.'

'And that's the exact reason I'm giving you this.' He smiles like an idiot and I take the guitar from him. It literally has dust on it. 'Oh and, can you come back through here just now, I need to show you something. There's a part missing but you need to help me find it.'

'Okay' I say as I get up, following him through to the back. When we get to the back of the bus he shuts the door abruptly.

'Amber I'm worried about you.'

'What?' I turn around, confused.

'Denis. I know you two have a thing starting. But Amber. The last time...'

He trails off, his face saddening. 'I can't lose you again.'

'Ben...' I start, looking at him. He sits down next to me and takes my hand. 'We all love you here. You are amazing. Not just at what you do but as a person. When you went away we were all broken, seriously devastated. We can't lose you again, you're like a sister to us.'

I look at Ben. This is the first time he has been serious with me for a long time. I don't know what to say or feel, I just feel numb.

'I don't know what to say...' I mumble.

'Just be careful okay? Denis is a great guy but can you see why we are all stressed about this? Just... tread on thin ice.'

I nod and we both stand, leaving the back. Ben grabs some random part for his guitar and brings it through, chucking it onto the couch. Denis looks up from his phone and smiles at me, gesturing for me to sit by him. I sit down next to him and start fiddling with Ben's guitar, hoping I can find the solution to the "funny noise". 

After around 40 minutes the bus stops to a half and the driver announces that we have arrived. I already feel the amazing atmosphere as I look out of the window, seeing all of the buses lined up side by side. I squeal a little in excitement and do a stupid little dance. 'We're here!' I shriek, jumping up and putting my shoes on. Warped Tour is my favourite thing of the year. Fuck a birthday; fuck Christmas - this is my event. I run off of the bus, taking in the sunshine and the fresh air. 

'I love this.' I whisper to myself, closing my eyes and breathing it in.

'Me too.' I hear in my ear as Denis wraps his arms around me from behind. I give him a squeeze and turn around, pecking him on the lips before I hear voices.

'Oh my God!' Someone shouts. I turn around. State Champs.

I let out an excited scream as I see them half running half jogging towards us. 'We could notice that bus from a mile off. Always late to the game!' Derek shouts, approaching us first. He grabs me and lifts me into the air, spinning me around. 'I have missed you so much.' He says to me softly. The other guys all embrace each other and Derek holds me a little longer. I feel his hands touching my hair, grabbing it gently as he hugs me. He sets me down but before I could get a word in Cam and James are here, grabbing him and hugging him. We all get lost in the moment as we make our way towards the stage area.

The whole walk felt so tense. Denis was at my heel and I could feel Derek watching my every move. Why did I feel such longing for him..? Is it because I miss him?

I shake it off and we reach the band area, meeting old and new friends and getting a drink. I felt amazing but there was tension in the air. I kept trying to shake it off but my anxieties wouldn't go away. There's so much history for me here... this is where my life fell apart. But I'm going to stay strong... every day is a new experience. This is going to be one hell of a few days.

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Hello! This chapter was a little history // filler for what comes next ~oooooh~

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